Transforming health delivery and tackling food waste

QUT is a research partner in two new research centres that aim to transform health delivery and tackle food waste.

The $229 million Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DH-CRC) will not only develop and test digital health solutions in hospitals and health services but also better enable individuals to manage their own health and wellness.

A new $133 million Fight Food Waste CRC aims to improve the future sustainability and profitability of the Australian food industry.

QUT Deputy Vice-chancellor (Research and Commercialisation) Professor Arun Sharma said the university was well positioned to help drive change in both areas through digital transformation and the development and evolution of new industries.

Announcing the DH-CRC today Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation, Senator Zed Seselja said the CRC would bring together industry and research partners across Australia’s health and wellness landscape in a collaborative approach to advancing health and medical technologies and pharmaceutical industries.

QUT Professor of Health Economics, Nick Graves, said QUT had capacity and excellence in many research disciplines that complement the goals of the DH-CRC.

Professor Nick Graves

“These include delivering real world solutions to the challenges of increasing the value of the current health spend, using evidence to change and support better models of care, harnessing the power of big data, developing novel devices and empowering consumers of health services.”

Senator Seselja said the Fight Food Waste CRC would reduce food waste throughout the value chain; transform unavoidable waste into innovative high-value products; and engage with industry and consumers to deliver behavioural change.

He said it was estimated that Australian households threw away almost $4,000 worth of unused food each year and the CRC would be used to identify opportunities and solutions to reduce food wastage from paddock to plate.

Professor Ian O'Hara

Professor Ian O’Hara from QUT’s Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities said QUT’s leading research into the development of a biocommodities industry to transform agricultural waste into new products would be a key focus of the university’s contribution to the Fight Food Waste CRC.